FREE! Iwatobi Crack Rangers! ASSEMBLE!
by C.A.M.E.O.1 and Only
Summary: A friend dared me to post this. The swim tournaments are over, and the Iwatobi and Samezuka teams start their vacation under the stars. But during the Perseids meteor shower, something else crash lands onto their base, bringing a threat with them...


The sky over Iwatobi shown bright, stars lighting it up like little LEDs. With the season of swimming tournaments over, the Iwatobi swim team and their friends would start their summer break together, watching the Perseids meteor shower as a group. Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei were gathered outside, laying out a picnic blanket before their manager arrived with her brother's group. As Makoto and Rei smoothed out the edges, Nagisa gladly plopped down onto the center of the pink sheet, interrupting his friends' hard work.

"Nagisa! That was very rude of you! I had a seating chart arranged beforehand to maximize everyone's viewing experience-" Rei started.

"You talk too much Rei-chan," Nagisa interjected, moving about and wrinkling the blanket even more. From the doorway, Haruka's doorbell could be heard. Getting up, Haruka silently made his way back inside to let the others in. From his peripheral vision, he sighed at the sight of Makoto trying to keep Nagisa and Rei's spat from escalating.

"Haruka-senpai!" Gou cheerily greeted, clutching onto her brother's arm as they entered. Rin gave Haruka a small smile as his sister dragged him inside, Sousuke following behind, nodding stiffly in greeting. Haruka reciprocated just as stiffly. Nitori, trailing behind, bowed to his host before stepping into the living room. As Haruka turned to lead them out to their chosen viewing spot, the doorbell rang once more.

"Just follow Gou. The others are already setting up outside," he said, deadpanned as usual before turning to his front door again. This time, it was Sasabe, with a stack of pizzas in his arms. Behind him, Haruka spotted Amakata-sensei waving to him. Bewildered, he let them in anyway. "The more the merrier," as Nagisa would probably say.

Back outside, the large cast of ten crammed into each other, vying for the best seat. Rei sighed, muttering under his breath about his seating arrangements. Haruka and Makoto, passing around a pizza box, sat beside Rin and Sousuke, watching Nagisa shove Rei and Nitori around like rag dolls for "his" spot at the center of the blanket. Gou, having given up on keeping the three in order, squeezed between her brother and Makoto in exasperation.

"How am I going to deal with them without you guys here next year?" she sighed, looking almost teary eyed at Haruka, Makoto, and her brother. Rin patted her on the head affectionately, also letting out a sigh as Nitori was pushed to the ground. Makoto placed his hand on Gou's shoulder, reassuring her of his faith in her. The spiel was interrupted by a passing glow through the night sky.

"I think it's starting!" Amakata-sensei said, everyone falling silent. Once the first streak of light passed, the night sky lit up with hundreds of meteors raining overhead.

"Romantic, isn't it?" Sousuke teased, nudging Rin in the shoulder. Everyone knew what a sap the older Matsuoka was. Rin gave his friend a glare before jabbing him in the ribs as payback.

"I can make a hundred wishes!" Nagisa exclaimed, arms extended out as his face glowed with awe at the phenomenon. Rei wanted to correct his friend, but a pointed look from Gou and Amakata silenced him. The night continued on, and like the pizzas devoured by the hungry teenagers, the shooting stars slowly but surely faded as well. The group got up, stretched, and began packing up to turn in for the night at Haruka's, as it was far too late for most of the trains to still be running. As Gou and Rei neatly packed up the pink picnic blanket, another flash of light caught their attention.

"Hey guys, there's one more!" she said, her pointing her finger at the slow moving streak of white.

" I do believe that's a comet, Gou-san. It's moving a lot more slowly than the average meteor-" Rei started, but was promptly shoved aside by Nagisa.

"Is it just me, or does it look like that thing's heading right toward us!?" Sousuke shouted as the light grew brighter and brighter in their direction. Rin jumped towards his sister, his big brother instincts kicking in when it looked like the extraterrestrial object was making its way to hit them. Haruka and Makoto grabbed Nagisa and Rei, Sousuke making sure Nitori was out of the way as they all scrambled to get inside. With a crash, the so-called shooting star lodged itself into the concrete outside Haruka's back door. It's glow died with a hiss, smoke rising from the debris. Rei, Gou, and Nagisa, the ever curious underclassmen, made their way toward it despite the others' protests. Adjusting his glasses in his signature fashion, Rei leaned in to get a better look at it.

"This certainly doesn't look like the normal composition of a comet that has entered Earth's-" And once again, he was interrupted, only this time, by a large light darting out of the object.

"Get back over here!" Rin shouted, urging the younger ones to safety. However, before even Nagisa could run back, the light collided into an unsuspecting Gou's chest, lodging itself inside her. The shocked girl turned towards her brother, face contorted in pain before keeling over unconscious.

"GOU!" Rin charged, catching his sister before her head hit the floor. His red eyes were wide in fear as he tried to shake her awake. Sousuke, Nitori, Makoto, Haruka, Amakata, and Sasabe followed after, the seriousness of the situation catching up to them.

"GOU-CHAN!" Nagisa cried, also trying to shake their manager awake. His pink eyes were wide and teary, terrified for the worst case scenario. Sasabe, pushing his way past the emotional youths, pried the unconscious Gou from her brother's tight and quivering grip.

"Rin, guys, listen to me. I can get her to the hospital right now. Amakata-san, please call their mother and alert them of what's going on. You boys stay put and stay calm. We can call the authorities about that-" Before he could complete his instructions, another ball of light whizzed past them, lodging itself into Sasabe's chest. Everyone fell silent. The coach's body stayed upright, but appeared to stiffen up, eyes open, but with the sheen over them reminiscent of a corpse.

"Sasabe-san?" Makoto managed to squeak out, quaking behind Haruka, who reached over to try to prod the man back to life. Before his hand could even reach him though, Sasabe's head fell back, mouth agape, as if possessed by a demon in one of Nagisa's beloved American horror movies. Makoto screamed bloody murder, gripping Haruka's shirt like a lifeline.

"Makoto. You're going to put holes in my shirt," Haruka said, just as deadpanned and appearing unaffected as usual.

"I apologize for stealing this life form's body, but alas I cannot communicate with you otherwise." An oddly deep voiced leaked from Sasabe's mouth as his body moved into standing position. Rin clutched Gou to him, Sousuke's grip on his shoulder tightening to keep him from doing anything rash. "I am Lord Xado of a faraway planet once known as Nileaj. It had been conquered and destroyed by the intergalactic warlord Igo and his army. Our planet's core contains a living energy that Igo plans on using to take over the galaxy. My son and I were able to escape by hiding amongst the asteroids and comets passing into orbit." At this point, everyone's attention was on this strange man. Except Rei, who, having found it too difficult to digest the information, was twitching on the floor foaming at the mouth.

"Look, I don't really get what's going on, but tell me what the hell this has to do with my sister. NOW," Rin said, turning to Sasabe's body.

"We were able to retrieve the only living piece of our planet's core after Igo destroyed it. Our planet, like a living creature, cannot live long after being so savagely attacked. When I crashed, it seems that the fragment reacted very strongly to that girl. It seems there is a powerful purity in her heart for it to hide itself in her," Xado continued, answering Rin's question.

"Gou-chan's pure?" Nagisa quipped, earning himself a rather deadly glare from her brother. Rei, getting up, roughly pulled him down in regaining his balance. Nagisa pouted in response.

"I thought we had a discussion about when it was appropriate to comment," he muttered, adjusting his glasses. While difficult, Rei knew when to shut up and just accept the outrageous. Look at who his friends were.

"HEY, let spaceman here finish his story," Sousuke said, cutting Nagisa and Rei's whispering short.

"Thank you. While the core embedded in her will cause her no harm, it can also give her amazing abilities for an entity of this planet. However, it is for this reason that her life, and this world, could be led into peril. Igo can sense Nileaj's energy and may attempt to take over this planet as well." Rin shoved Sousuke aside, Nitori and Makoto rushing to catch Gou. Rin fisted Sasabe's shirt collar, fist raised.

" You mean to tell me that my sister could very well be a fucking target?" he growled.

"Unfortunately, yes," Xado responded, his voice eerily calm. _**BAM!**_ Rin's fist collided with Sasabe's jaw. The resounding crack made everyone flinch as the body of their coach was sent hurdling to the ground with a loud thud. Nitori and Sousuke, leaving Makoto with Gou, held their raging captain back from inflicting even more damage.

"Rin," Haruka called, placing a placating hand on his shoulder. They locked gazes for a moment before Rin slumped his shoulders forward, gathering himself. Haruka then gave Sousuke and Nitori a look, silently telling them not to let the redhead go. Together, they turned their attention back to Sasabe's body, wobbling back up with an ugly black bruise on his cheek.

"I understand your anger, young one. A loved one's life is more valuable than your own. But Igo cannot detect the actual location of the core. Only remnants of wherever its power touches. He will scour the entire planet, even turn it into space dust to find it. But I can give you the power to stop him before that. I do not have much left, but I can entrust it in you to protect this girl. To protect Nileaj's core. To become the guardians of this world," Xado said. Nagisa, Rei, Nitori, Rin, Sousuke, Haruka, Makoto, Amakata, all gazed dumbfounded. There was a chilly stillness amongst the swimmers, Nitori and Sousuke releasing Rin and all awkwardly turning to each other, trying to gage the others' expressions.

"That sounds like an immense amount of responsibility," Rei said, breaking the silence.

"I'm not going to let some dipshit from outer space kill my sister!" Rin brusquely stated, turning towards Rei.

"I don't want her to get hurt either! I'm just saying, for us, a group of teenagers trying to get through school, competitions, graduation, saving the world sounds like an immense undertaking!" Rei defended, a bit unsettled by the toothy snarl Rin seemed to be giving him.

"Wait a minute guys, doesn't this remind you of Super Sentai?" Nagisa suddenly asked, his eyes shining with nostalgic glee. Haruka's head snapped to attention, reminded of his childhood days of watching too much television in his spare time. Turning to the man in Sasabe's body, Haruka's blue eyes glowed with a strange determination.

"I accept." Makoto face-palmed.

"HARU! This is why you shouldn't have watched so much T.V. as a kid!" he scolded through his hand.

"I ACCEPT TOO!" Nagisa exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air as he joined Haruka. Rei joined Makoto is gawking at the two in absolute disbelief.

"Tch...For Gou, I'll accept too," Rin stated, joining Haruka and Nagisa. At this point, Makoto's jaw was stuck open, Rei was pulling his hair, and Nitori was in complete shock.

"You really can't stop them, can you?" Amakata lightly remarked, somehow immune to the complete insanity of the situation. Rei and Makoto turned to gawk at her as well, wondering how she could remain so unaffected.

"I only have enough energy for six of you. I need the remainder to survive in this being's body without being intrusive. If you are willing to accept this undertaking, please step forward," Xado said, holding Sasabe's hands out. Rin, Haruka and Nagisa placed their hands out toward him.

"You know what, if Rin and Haruka here think it's a good idea, I'll shoot for it. It'd be cool to be a hero," Sousuke sighed, stepping up next to Rin.

"Ah, Yamazaki-senpai!" Nitori called, finding it hard to support Gou all by himself. Amakata kneeled down next to him, her hands gently supporting Gou's shoulders. Nitori nodded his head in gratitude, a little disappointed to be unable to join his upperclassmen.

"...I think I'm going to join them. I don't want Earth to be destroyed either," Makoto said, suddenly moving up to join Haruka and Nagisa. Rei let out a frustrated scream, feeling his teammates' eyes on him.

"Rei-chan..."Nagisa cooed, giving him a smile that always seemed to lead to no good.

"...FINE! I'll do it. Gou and the Earth are both very valuable to me," the boy in glasses sighed, exasperated as he threw his hands up in surrender and trudged his way up to join the rest of his friends.

"Very well. Six have gathered. Take my hands and form a circle," Xado commanded. Rin and Haruka awkwardly touched their hands to Sasabe's as the others just as uncomfortably linked their hands to Rin and Haruka's. Looking on, Nitori and Amakata's eyes widened in awe as the swimmers' bodies began to glow as Xado's power coursed through them.

"It's never a dull moment with these boys, is it Nitori-kun?" Amakata said, catching Nitori's attention. He shook his head, agreeing wholeheartedly. His friends were always great, and now, they were about to become even greater.


End file.
